CYBORG:
We all breathe a sigh of relief as Raven releases the shooter and those freaky little four-eyed birds get sucked back to--wherever they came from. As the two policemen advance warily to lead away the shooter once more, I turn to Robin. "Robin, where'd BB go?" A memory flares up. "That--that was Kid Flash, right? Maneuver A... zero?"
"Yeah. He must have taken him to JC Mercy Hospital, that's the closest--" His T-Communicator chirps. "Robin here."
"Robin?" The voice is British--Argent. "What happened? I'm in Sao Paolo on a mission with Pantha, and we heard you on both our communicators. You broadcast a message on Alpha-Prime Override. Who's Wally?"
"Privileged information. What I can tell you is that Beast Boy's been shot." Her gasp is audible over the line. "He's been taken to a hospital."
Another voice breaks in, rougher, Spanish-accented. Pantha. "Please tell us you caught the one who did it!"
"He's in custody right now."
"Oh." She sounds disappointed. "At least did Raven kick his ass?"
"Something like that," Robin replies, glancing furtively at Rae, who hasn't spoken or done much of anything since she dropped the shooter.
"Good," she chuckles. Then Argent comes back on. "Robin... is he hurt bad?"
Whether accidentally or on purpose, Robin angles the device so that his bloodied arms and torso can be seen. The effect is striking; this time, even the hardened Pantha gasps. "If you're near a church, now would be a good time to go inside. Robin out."
"Well, what're we waitin' for?" I demand as Robin deactivates his communicator and puts it away. "Let's get goin' to JC Mercy!"
We all pile into my baby. I've already revved up the motor before we realize that we're missing someone (besides BB).
"Uh, Raven?" I holler, leaning out the window. "Sometime this month'd be nice!"
She looks up with a start, and I note that her eyes have lost some of their vacancy. "You guys go ahead. There's something I need to do first."
"One of us has to go with you. We can't risk another 'outburst' from you." Robin, blunt as always.
"Allow me." Starfire, the only person Robin can't act blunt with. Well, maybe one other... "You will keep us up with any developments, yes?"
"Sure."
The girls fly off and I put the T-Car in gear and floor it. With just two occupants, it feels depressingly empty.
The whole minute of silence that passes unnerves me. "Let's see if we can find us a little music, shall we?" Turning on the radio.
"Reports coming in of a shootout between the Teen Titans and a group of armed gunmen..."
Shoot. Change channel...
"...local heroes were fired upon just a few minutes ago..."
Change...
"...As many as four Titans and up to 100 bystanders..."
"...say at this time that an injured Beast Boy somehow teleported..."
"...taken in for questioning..."
"...What began as a botched bank robbery snowballed into..."
"...actually ate the soul of the shooter remain unconfirmed..."
I switch it off and glance at Robin. "Damn press is turnin' our our little green friend into a media circus."
"And it's our responsibility to end that." He reactivates his communicator. "Williams? This is Robin. Yes, the Titans Robin. No, I am not dead. Listen up! I need you to tell Denning to send a reporter to Mercy Hospital. And I want you to relay that to all the other papers and TV networks. What? Sorry, man, this is not an exclusive. You still owe me. Right. Uh-huh. Oh, and this will be just a statement, clear the air. No questions. Right. See ya 'round."
"Not like ya to go talkin' to the press," I note as he stows the T-Communicator.
"Not like any of us, especially after that altercation you had following that business with Trigon." The T-Communicator beeps, and he groans. "Who is this? Bumblebee? I can't talk right now. Just spread the word to stay glued to the screens for the next few minutes."
Those minutes pass in strained silence. Then we arrive at our destination, where over fifty reporters await, with more arriving by the sound-truck-load. Unable to resist, I put the babe into an impressive fishtail and park it right at "center stage". Robin steps out in front of the cameras and microphones. I exit from the other side, kept at a safe distance by the vehicle between us. As you may have gathered, I don't handle the media well.
The following words then get beamed to bars and living rooms nationwide.
"As you may know, I am Robin, leader of the Teen Titans superhero team. At approximately 11 AM today, we chased down five armed bank robbers. Despite our precautionary measures, one of them managed to shoot one of our teammates, Beast Boy, in the chest." The reporters are riveted. He pauses, no doubt plagued by the memory of that crucial miscount, an assumption we could all share the blame for. "Beast Boy was then taken here, to the Jump City Mercy Hospital, and the shooter was subdued and taken into custody along with his accomplices. Updates on any changes in the status will be issued accordingly. That is all."
A low murmuring breaks out among the reporters, punctuated by one who yells, "Robin, and truth to the rumors that--"
"Yo!" I recognize the dude. He's Jack J. Benson, the guy whose camera I smashed. "The invite said no questions!" I'm pleased to note that he remembers me too, as he backpedals several feet.
"Stand down, Cyborg. Mr. Benson, you are allotted one question. Make it count."
"Uh..." he scrambles for something better to ask about. "Will you be notifying Beast Boy's family of his injury, and bringing them here?"
Naturally, he doesn't know that BB was--is! is!I remind myself firmly--an orphan. And his state of affairs vis a vis the Doom Patrol is tenuous. Robin begins struggling to formulate an appropriate response when everybody takes several steps backward.
I look up--ah, it's Star are Raven, coming in for a landing. News travels fast.
They alight next to us, and suddenly I know exactly what to say.
"We're all he has," I say firmly, clasping two of my teammates' shoulders. "We are his family."
A moment of reverential silence is broken by the entire horde shouting questions at us, emboldened as I had feared by the first crack in the dike. As we break for the hospital doors, Robin asks, "Raven, why don't you throw up a force field?"
"I can't."
I frown. What does that mean?
